Greed God chapter 60

January 17th 2016 Iceberg Lounge 12:00 PM EDT

Keeping  my costume in the car had become second nature, which was good, because  I needed it. I didn't stop to play around with Jay or Raven, I walked  right past the guards, who let me by without a fuss and up to the floor  where I knew I'd find the Calculator. Once I got there I sat down across  from him. His goons, different ones than last time, tensed, but the  cold man gestured sharply and they stood down. He nodded to me  mechanically. "Mammon. Good to see you again. I trust my information  bore fruit? Attaining ti was no easy task, but you paid handsomely so  our business is at an end."

I nodded tersely. "You  fulfilled your end, and I appreciate it. That isn't why I'm here." I  pulled out a handful of decent sized stones, letting them all fall on  the table in a clattering pile. "I have another job. Somewhat of a rush,  but much simpler than the last. You complete it for me while I sit here  and you take all of these, free and clear. It's local info, and recent,  well within your skills. Are you interested?"

Despite my  urgency and obvious distress, the cold villain didn't rush to answer, he  didn't even seem particularly excited by the gems, he just glanced down  at them, then up into the air in deliberation. He was silent for a few  moments that felt like eternity, before he finally gave a slow nod. "I  suppose under those conditions I might be convinced to take a job. You  would do well to calm yourself however Mammon. I work at my own pace,  regardless of payment. Haste makes waste. You may wait for me if you  wish, but I shant rush my process."

I sighed, slumping  back and forcing myself to relax. As the tension drained from me I  nodded. "Fair. I won't push on that point. Working fast enough for me to  wait on is already a big ask. Alright. I need help finding someone in  town. She was in Arkham until recently. Her name is Charise Carnes, but  she's been operating as a criminal mastermind calling herself  Knightfall. She's been active in Gotham recently, specifically near  Cherry Hill, and utilizing a group of misfits to scare people out of the  neighborhood in order to attempt some sort of real estate coup."

The  Calculator nodded. "That is indeed much simpler to deal with than your  last task." He reached into a pocket and withdrew a small case about the  size of a cigar case. He opened it up, revealing a compact computer  with a touch screen attach on the bottom. His fingers started flying  over the keys, and he talked as he worked."A local is a much more  realistic target for a short term operation, not to mention such a  prominent figure. People like that leave footprints, no matter how small  or delicate. They have to use the connections they're so enamored with,  and using those connections leaves traces."

I had  assumed something like that would be the case. William Carnes had been a  hot shit kingmaker type, and Cherry getting out of crazy jail after  brutally murdering him would have required some serious political  leverage. This was Gotham, and you couldn't just murder rich people and  get away with it. Granted, people murdered them and DIDN'T get away with  it all the damn time, but that wasn't the same thing.

The  Calculator's fingers flew through motions so fast even I had to  actually pay attention to keep track, and despite memorizing them, I  still had no clue what he was doing. Uper brain or not you couldn't  really learn to hack just by watching, there were lots of prerequisites  and foundational knowledge you needed before you could do the kinds of  things he was doing right now. Still, I made sure to commit it all to  memory, because I probably WOULD learn to hack later, and then I would  have the context to make use of the kind of tricks the older man was  putting to work at the moment.

The Calculator clicked  his tongue as he worked. "Interesting. This one took precautions. It  won't be enough, but she's gone to some trouble to cover her tracks. I  suspect she hired someone competent, though I don't recognize the  signature at work. Still, something to watch out for when you find her,  she clearly doesn't mind bringing in expert help." I didn't either,  though I didn't have time to do so right not. I'd texted Whisper and  Waylon to stay put for this little caper. I could take Cherry and her  minions based on what Bonebreaker told me. I was more concerned that my  ow minions would be followed back to me before I got my hands on her.

Once  I broke her I could destroy all traces of Knightfall. Barbie didn't  have any proof linking the two, so the case against her would disappear,  and I could order my redhead down if need be. I doubted I would have to  though. Barbie knew what the Brand did, and once she knew Cherry was  under it I could convince her she was under better control belonging to  me than stuck back in a place like Arkham where she could clearly escape  at any time. I forced myself to calm down. I was getting impatient,  jittery. I needed to relax.

The Calculator kept  working for about twenty minutes before he finally made a pleased sound  and flicked a finger. My phone buzzed and a message popped up on my  screen. He nodded. "I was able to use a series of data points to uncover  the identities of the movers and shakers behind her Arkham release and  the Cherry Hill development pressure. I backtracked the contact those  people had to find a specific cell phone tower that the various burners  had in common and used the to narrow down the exact location you were  looking for. From there I simply tapped into the local surveillance  cameras. Your girl is subtle, her big thuggish friend in purple is not."

I  pushed the stones over with a thank you and stood up. With The Reach  and the Shadows in play I couldn't afford to drag this out. I was going  to handle Cherry today. Not through minions or manipulation, I was going  to fucking demolish her whole crew. Cherry Hill was going to be mine,  and serve as a staging ground for some of the shit that was coming. I  left the club quickly, heading to my car and making my way to the  address The Calculator had given me. When I arrived I climbed out of the  car, stretching before I engaged.

This  was going to be a quick in and out. Activating my mask I could see  people inside, specifically three of them, all I rankers. I assumed the  bigger one was Katharsis, and luckily according to Bonebreaker she was  much weaker than her counterpart. I slipped into the building. My mask  hid me from the cameras with just a bit of effort, secret keeping was  damn useful, and I slipped up behind the dark skinned white haired Bleak  Michael without much issue, choking him out easily.

Cherry  was upstairs, lying down, and most likely asleep from the looks of it.  That meant I had to handle Katharsis on my own before she had a chance  to wake up and notice. I made my way to where the big woman was training  in the basement, beating on a reinforced punching bag. She didn't have  super strength or anything, but she was a master combatant and the bitch  was pretty big.

I  didn't bother to hide my presence. I didn't need to hide from someone  like her. I just stepped out into the basement and cleared my throat.  She jumped, spinning to glare at me. She sneered when she saw me.  "You're dressed pretty fancy for a robber. You breaking in or going for a  night at the opera." I saw her hands slip to her back and I didn't  bother to stop her pulling out a giant ass long handled sword. Well...  it was more combination sword and cleaver. An interesting weapon.

She  rushed. It didn't accomplish much. She swung her blade and I moved.  Master of martial arts or not I was way out of the weight class of a  normal human. If she'd been some kind of humanoid monster like Lady  Shiva, who was the only person I'd seen reach H rank without any actual  powers, I might have had to actually try, but Katharsis, training aside,  was a former cop in her early twenties, not a world class martial arts  master, or even trained by one like Barbie.

I  sidestepped all her blows without any trouble, weaving between the  slashes until I got bored enough to just punch her in the solar plexus  to end it. She doubled over on my fist, wheezing, and I chopped the back  of her neck like I'd seen in some youtube videos I wanted. She dropped  like a rock. I took her pants off, admiring a nicely toned ass, and tied  her up with her own pants after tearing them into strips. I'd shoved  Michael in a closet, but I was worried she might get loose if I did  that. Luckily I fucked this one cheerleader who had a shibari fetish, so  I was pretty confident in my ability to tie a bitch up.

Once  the minions were out of the way I made my way up to Cherry's room,  where I found her asleep, wearing nothing but panties. Well good. That  should make this easier. I slammed the door. She jerked awake with a  gasp, hand drawing a throwing knife from under her pillow and hurling it  at my masked face. I caught it. By the handle. Mid air. She  looked...uneasy at that. I scanned her body, taking in the view. Nice  perky tits, flat stomach, couldn't see the booty but I doubted she was  packing much. She had pretty thick thighs, and I stared a bit before she  finally snarled. "Take a picture! It'll last longer."

I  chuckled at that. "Cherry darling, this will last as long as I decide  it will, picture or no. Or should I call you Knightfall." Her eyes  narrowed in annoyance. I shrugged. "Yeah I guess the big reveal that I  know your identity is undercut by me being here and obviously having  knocked out your goons. Now, you've been annoying someone I care about,  and honestly I'm in a bit of a hurry. So let's get this out of the way.  I'm here to give you a choice." I kept my tone conversational, but I saw  her glaring at me.

She  spat on the floor, which was gross and something I was going to have to  train out of her before I brought her home. She giggled. "Oh you're  here about the bat slut. You must be one of her little pals. Let me  guess. I agree to turn my life around or you'll beat me up a bit and  hand me over to the cops? Pass. Slap me around a little if you want, but  I'm not letting this city continue to rot. A cleansing is needed. No  second rate no name do-gooder is going to convince me otherwise."

I  actually burst out laughing. "Do...do I look like a hero to you? Wow.  No. Your choices are this. Choice one. You can go back to Arkham, where  I'll arrange for all evidence of you to be lost so your political pals  can't spring you. They won't be able to use your daddy's corruption to  get you released if Arkham doesn't have a record of you being there."  She glared at me and I grinned under my mask, stepping forward. "Or you  can take your fucking panties off and get ready for some dick. You're  getting fucked tonight either way Cherry, but I'll let you decide if  you're getting shoved in a hole or I am."